site.btaUPDATED President Iotova Votes "to Have Working Parliament Soon, and for Strong Government"

As she went to cast her vote in the April 19 snap parliamentary elections Sunday, President Iliana Iotova said her vote went "to have a working Parliament soon, and a strong government". "I voted so that Bulgaria has a working National Assembly soon, which will elect a leadership swiftly, skip the bargaining and delays we have seen previously, and form quickly a strong government because the problems are not waiting," the head of State told the press after voting.

She used a machine to cast her vote.

Iotova also said that Bulgaria needs "a normal, working and real Parliament-backed budget because entire systems are grinding and about to halt".

"We must think about the incomes of the most vulnerable people," the President said, adding that she had voted not only for an economically developed, high-tech Bulgaria, but also for care for those most in need. "Thе entire stalemate over the past two years has affected them the most. They are barely making ends meet, as I have seen during my meetings across the country in the past two years," said Iotova.

"We need to ensure that the government has a strong and influential voice among our European partners, within our European family," the President added, noting that the international situation remains volatile. "We must emerge from this crisis together," Iotova said.

She said that the National Assembly must first be constituted, and that she would attend as a guest if invited. "I will try to launch the process of government-forming mandates even more quickly," the President said.

Iotova expects a very high voter turnout and urged Bulgarians to vote in large numbers: "Let everyone make their choice, but let us show that we are citizens who care about how we live."

According to the President, the Interior Ministry's performance in combating vote-buying will be assessed the day after the elections. "Considerable effort has been made, but schemes built over decades cannot be dismantled in a single month," she said.

She added that she had a minor technical issue while voting. "The paper jammed briefly, but everything was resolved within seconds. I have always trusted machine voting - ever since it was introduced, I have always opted for it," Iotova said. Commenting on election-day machine issues, she added: "It is technology, I do not believe there is any deliberate action involved."